Payment methods

In person - by cash, cheque, credit or debit card, or by instalments (please ask at your centre for details)

On line - by credit or debit card

By telephone - by credit or debit card

If your fees are being paid by your employer please ask us about invoicing options

If you are over 19 years of age, and your course is at Level 3 or above and costs more than £300 you may qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan to pay your course fees. Find out more about Advanced Learner Loans

Do I need to bring identification?

Please bring along a form of ID such as your passport, driving licence, National Insurance card or bank, credit or debit card. Ask your centre for details of what we can accept.

Please have your date of birth and National Insurance number available as well.

Can I get a refund?

If you sign up for a course and it is cancelled before classes start or up to week 3 of the course, you will get a full refund. If a course has been running for more than 3 weeks of study when it is cancelled, you will get some of your fee back

We may also give partial refunds if you have to stop taking the course for a medical or employment reason. You will need to give us either a doctor's note or a letter from your employer

If you decide to withdraw from a course before you start, or part way through, we will decide whether you can have a refund. This depends on when you have let us know you don't want to continue and why you don't want to go on

Please note, if you withdraw from a course and are paying by instalments, you may still need to pay your remaining instalments

Do I need to have a DBS check?

For some courses, such as Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools, you will need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (previously a CRB check). Please enrol for your course early so our centre staff can issue your DBS application form and submit it for processing. Placements cannot start until a satisfactory clearance certificate has been viewed by the centre. The cost of the DBS check will be included in your course fee, but you are strongly recommended to pay an additional fee, currently £13, for an annual update service to ensure portability. Our centre staff or your course tutors can give you more information.

ULN (Unique Learner Number) and PLR (Personal Learning Record)

When you register for your course you will be required to use your own personal 10 digit Unique Learner Number (ULN) – this is your education equivalent to your National Insurance number. You may already have a ULN number – this will be shown on your certificate if you have undertaken an accredited course within the last few years. If you haven't – we can easily apply for your ULN – you will find out more information about this when you enrol.

Your ULN allows you access to your own Personal Learning Record (PLR) – this is a complete record of your achievements since 2007. Information within the Personal Learning Records is secure and cannot be shared with other organisations (including statutory bodies), without the prior consent of the learner. The process of accessing your learning record will be discussed when you discuss your enrolment

Enrolment tips

Book early - some of of most popular courses fill up quickly, and some courses have limited places so get in touch with us to guarantee your place. For some courses you may also need a DBS check and this process takes time

Speed up the process - have your Unique Learner Number handy

Keep your details up to date - include an up to date phone number and email address so that we can get in touch with you quickly

Sign your form - your enrolment form is part of your agreement with us. remember to sign it so that your enrolment is not delayed

Waiting lists

If the course is full - you will be added to our waiting list and if a space becomes available we will contact you to let you know

Can't pay today - if you are unable to pay for your course at the time of enrolling at one of our centres, we will add you to our waiting list. Your place on the course will be secured as soon as you call back to pay the course fee. This way we can give you a call if the course if becoming full or if it doesn't go ahead

Find a course today!

Prevent Duty

Prevent Duty

All Further Education providers have a duty to safeguard their learners and keep them safe from being exploited by extremists. The Prevent Duty is not about discouraging our learners from having political and religious views and concerns, but about supporting them to use those concerns or act on them in non-extremist ways.

Jan 2019 brochure out now!

Stay with us in the New Year and take up one of the many progression opportunities available to you. Our latest brochure is available now! Your tutor will speak to you about follow on courses and your next steps too.

Your Learner Handbook

Our new learner handbook is now available here (pdf 1.81MB). Packed full of useful information about the service, we hope you will find it helpful. We'll cover a lot of the topics during our new induction process too, and you will be given a copy of the handbook to take away with you at the start of your course.

Advanced Learner Loans

There have been changes to how education courses are funded for learners over 19 years old. Level 3 and above courses will no longer be funded by the Government (unless you are aged 19-23 years old and it is your first full Level 3 qualification) but you may qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan to cover your course fees.

If this loan is to fund an Access to HE Diploma leading to a completed degree, your Advanced Learner Loan will be written off so you don't have to pay it back.

It doesn't matter about your household income or even credit checks to qualify for a loan, and you don't have to pay anything back until you are earning over £21,000 a year.

Loans are available for people living in the UK on the first day of their course and have lived in this country, the Channel Islands of the Isle of Man for three years immediately before this.

Talk to our centre reception staff to get more details and your course offer letter which will have the information you will need to complete your loan application.